The 2008 Summer Olympics officially opened today (or tonight as NBC would like you to believe) and the New York area is well represented. Not only are more than 40 athletes from the tri-state area competing for the U.S., but there are also several residents of New York City are heading to Beijing with dreams of gold. 19 year-old Sadam Ali, who was born and raised in Canarsie, is the first Arab-American boxer to compete......

At a lively memorial for Norman Mailer held yesterday at Carnegie Hall, the esteemed author’s son claimed to channel his father’s spirit, a feat that turned into a tongue-in-cheek impersonation of Mailer that brought the house down. According to the Post, 42-year-old Stephen Mailer, one of nine Mailer children, stepped up to the podium, raised his arms like a revivalist, and shouted "Come on, old man, I'm all yours.”He then fell to the ground as......

Partial cover of the New York Post What would Norman Mailer make of a boxer cavorting in high heels, fishnet stockings, and a fur-trimmed tutu? "I respect most boxers because they're violent people who learned to discipline themselves," opined the late writer. Mailer may be dead, but it's doubtable whether the embarrassment that Oscar De La Hoya faces will ever die. The New York Times framed the situation ably, noting the media alert notifying......

Anders Uwadinobi, a freshman from the Bronx, was "play" fighting with a friend in a dorm room at SUNY Binghamton when he suffered fatal injuries Sunday night. An autopsy is being conducted, but a student who witnessed the situation when he heard screams to call 911 said he saw Uwadinobi "shaking" and seizing. The 18-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival at Wilson Memorial Regional Medical Center. The student told the Post, "They were playing around.......

Author Norman Mailer passed away at Mt. Sinai Hospital this morning of renal failure. The deceased writer was the author of more than 30 books, from his debut "The Naked and The Dead," to others including "Armies of the Night," and "The Executioner's Song," for which he won a Pulitzer and the National Book Award, respectively. Mailer was known as much for his out-sized personality as for his writing. The New York Times waxes poetic......

Police officer Sonia Garcia was found dead in the Bay Shore, Long Island home she shared with fellow NYPD officer Alexis Chaparro. Chaparro, an instructor at the POlice Academy, told the police he heard a shot and found Garcia, who worked at the 77th Precinct in Brooklyn, in their bedroom early in the morning. He called 911 at about 5:15AM. Chaparro was led out of the house in handcuffs, and Suffolk police questioned Chaparro for......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: American Body Shop (Sunday, 10:00 p.m., Comedy Central) A spoof of the fakeality vehicle tweaking genre with former NYC Transit cop John DiResta as part of the ensemble cast. World Series of Pop Culture (Monday, 9:00 p.m. VH1) NY1's Pat Kieran hosts this trivia battle royal show starting its second season. The Bronx is Burning (Monday, 10:00 p.m., ESPN) The first part of an eight part miniseries......

Unfortunately, Gothamist isn't old enough to have watched Floyd Patterson fight. Our childhood memories of him consist of hearing Billy Joel sing "Liston beats Patterson" about their 1962 fight. Born in North Carolina, Patterson and his family moved to Bed-Stuy when he was a child. After a brief period in Upstate New York, where he first took up boxing, Patterson returned to the city and, before long, started to train with Cus D'Amato at the......

The British can be cutting edge with their sense of humor and style at times, but some automobile-related news makes reassures us that high school prom kids can be as kooky across the pond as they are here: Apparently being chauffeured in a NYPD cruiser is becoming very popular, because nothing says "That special night of your life during high school" like "I was arrested for [something ranging from riding my bike to killing someone]......

Now that the strike is over warm weather has returned. Nice timing! Did anyone choose to walk to work this morning just because it is warmer? Today and tomorrow will be plenty warm for late-December with high temperatures near 50 degrees. The sun will peak out tomorrow afternoon for all you last-minute shoppers. Christmas in Hollis and everywhere else in the city is going to be wet. Rain and showers are expected throughout the day.......

More than a year since his last fight in February, 2003, Iron Mike Tyson is ready to return to the ring. Last week, Tyson was given a license to fight in New Jersey, yesterday he said he will fight on July 30, and today he turns 38. It's been a busy couple of weeks for Tyson and it's a wonder where he gets time to train for the fight against Danny Williams. Some reports......

Boxer Mike Tyson was granted a license to fight in New Jersey yesterday, some six years after the state's Athletic Control Board rejected his last application. However, Gov. James E. McGreevey limited the locations where Tyson could have a match by barring him from fighting at any facility owned or operated by the state. McGreevey also said he would ask the board to review the decision. "The governor doesn't think Mr. Tyson has the......

Oh, my God, this sounds just like "The Next Karate Kid" - just replacing the karate with boxing and Mr. Miyagi with Dirty Harry, and Oscarizing Hillary Swank. The trades report that Clint Eastwood will direct and star in "Million Dollar Baby," "a tragic and platonic love story involving a fighter turned-trainer and a woman in her early 30s who is determined to begin a boxing career." Okay, so maybe it's a little classier, but......

So 'Joe Millionaire' Is Fox's Biggest Hit. It always seems so shocking that the Fox Network is able to pull out wins, even almost 20 years of existence. The Married with Children reunion made me realize that I've grown up seeing Fox evolve. It was wild and crazy in the early days, with A Current Affair and Tracey Ullman Show and Married with Children. And it was shocking when Fox decided to pit The Simpsons......